In the latest of a new series of articles with Kenilworth Nub News, owner of EDMONDS Jewellers, Carl Edmonds, celebrates the success of Kenilworth's town centre in the face of ongoing pressures on the high street.

Kenilworth is proving that a successful town centre doesn't necessarily need fewer businesses competing for customers - it needs more good reasons for people to visit.

Over recent years, Kenilworth has developed what could be described as a "cluster effect", with groups of similar and complementary businesses creating a stronger overall destination for shoppers, diners and visitors.

Rather than businesses operating in isolation, a growing number of independent retailers, cafés, restaurants and professional services are helping to create a town centre where customers can visit for one reason and discover several others while they are there.

Take jewellery, for example. Kenilworth now has several established jewellers, including Edmonds Jewellers, Jones and James Moore. At first glance, it might seem that businesses in the same sector would simply compete with each other. In reality, having several jewellers can make the town a more obvious destination for anyone looking to buy jewellery, watches, gifts or have a repair carried out.

The same principle can be seen with coffee shops. Kenilworth has developed a strong café culture, with businesses such as Morning Sunshine, BrewQuest, Coffee On The Corner and other independent coffee shops attracting people into the town centre. Customers don't necessarily visit because of one particular café — they may simply decide to meet friends, have coffee and spend some time in Kenilworth.

And that creates opportunities for the businesses around them.

A coffee can lead to a browse around the shops. A shopping trip can lead to lunch. Lunch can lead to a visit to a jeweller, bookshop or independent retailer. An appointment at an optician or physiotherapist can turn into a coffee or shopping trip.

That is the cluster effect

Kenilworth's restaurant scene provides another excellent example. The town now offers a wide variety of cuisines and dining experiences, from independent restaurants and cafés to pubs and newer destinations. This gives people another reason to make Kenilworth a destination for an evening or weekend visit.

The town also benefits from clusters in books, culture, health and wellbeing, beauty, opticians, gifts and independent retail.

For customers, this creates something extremely valuable: choice.

For the town, it creates something even more valuable: footfall.

A thriving town centre isn't necessarily about having one outstanding business in each category. Sometimes it is about having enough businesses together to create a reason for people to visit, stay longer and return.

This is particularly important at a time when many traditional high streets across the UK are facing difficult trading conditions.

Kenilworth appears to be bucking some of those trends.

The arrival of new businesses, businesses changing hands, existing premises being reinvented and established independents continuing to invest has helped create a sense of momentum.

There is also an important message here for independent retailers.

Competition isn't always the enemy

If a customer has three good jewellers to choose from, several cafés, numerous restaurants and a selection of independent shops, they have a reason to come to the town.

Once they are there, every business has the opportunity to benefit from the wider footfall.

This is why Kenilworth's independent business community should perhaps see itself less as a collection of individual shops and more as one combined destination.

A visitor may arrive because of the castle, come into town for coffee, browse the independent shops, stop for lunch, visit a jeweller and finish the day in one of the town's pubs or restaurants.

Each business becomes part of the overall experience.

And that may be one of Kenilworth's greatest strengths.

The success of one business can help create the conditions for another business to succeed

The more attractive businesses Kenilworth has, the more reasons people have to visit.

And the more reasons people have to visit, the stronger the town centre becomes.

Perhaps the future of the high street isn't about having less competition.

Perhaps it is about creating more choice, more variety and more reasons to come to town.

Kenilworth seems to be demonstrating that, when businesses work together - even when they compete - the whole town can benefit.

Click here to visit the EDMONDS website.

EDMONDS Jewellers sponsors Nub News.